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MMO-Champion yesterday revealed a leaked document from Blizzard detailing their release schedule through 2015. At the risk of re-iterating something which has already been summarized quite nicely by Boubouille, allow me to list the highlights (just listing the main IPs and their expansion):

Starcraft

Q4, 2011 – Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Q4, 2011 – Pheonix (no idea what this is)

Q1, 2013 – Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void

Diablo

Q4, 2011 – Diablo III

Q2, 2013 – Diablo III: First Expansion

Q4, 2014 – Diablo III: Second Expansion

World of Warcraft

Q4, 2010 – Third Expansion: Cataclysm

Q2, 2012 – Fourth Expansion

Q4, 2013 – Fifth Expansion

Titan

Q4, 2013 – Possible New IP

Chronologically we will get:

Q4, 2010 – Third Expansion: Cataclysm

Q4, 2011 – Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Q4, 2011 – Diablo III

Q4, 2011 – Pheonix

Q2, 2012 – Fourth Expansion

Q1, 2013 – Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void

Q2, 2013 – Diablo III: First Expansion

Q4, 2013 – Fifth Expansion

Q4, 2014 – Diablo III: Second Expansion

Q4, 2013 – Titan

We’ve known for a while that Blizzard is hard at work on a new MMO, one that has nothing to do with any of their primary, and existing IPs. The Q4, 2013 date is approximately three years away. So it makes sense that in the next three years the game will be teased, announced, trailer’d, beta’d and launched. Knowing Blizzard’s normal release schedules I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this was actually pushed into 2014 or even 2015, but my point is that it is entirely possible. According to this schedule, the next few years are going to be quite exciting for people who have played and loved all three of Blizzard’s flagship IPs, and may, in fact, be able to get their hands on the brand new MMO.

Three possibilities exist.

1. It is this a clever ploy by Blizzard. Why? Well, to generate some buzz for Titan, or perhaps to save themselves from the perpetually asked “when will it get released” question for the next five years. Possible, but unlikely. One thing Blizzard is notorious for, is remaining tight-lipped about information, and releasing it in the smallest possible morsels, just enough to salivate the fans, but not to be their salvation. So why start now?

2. It is an actual leak. That is more likely, but they haven’t had such a major leak in, well, actually I can’t remember if they’ve ever really had a leak! So how did they slip up now? Additionally, it seems, at least to me, that it is highly unlikely that someone would create a document of this nature and freely float it with in the organization.

3. It is a fake. Most likely scenario. Someone is pulling our leg, peppering the document it with near-authentic information to make it seem like it is real. For example, the Q4 release date for Cataclysm (that’s accurate), and the Q4, 2011 release date for Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Here is a statement released on October 24, 2010:

“According to Blizzard’s Chris Sigaty, the second chapter int he SC2 trilogy “probably” won’t be ready until 2012.”

This is just after Q4, 2011, and since the document itself is 8 months old, it can be argued that initially they were aiming for Q4, 2011, but since then they have revised the dates. Heart of the Swarm “probably won’t be ready before 2012 now”.

Then again, the same evidence and argument could be made for the document being authentic. Geekyleaks indeed!

On to Titan though. Blizzard has the futuristic genre covered, the fantasy and goth horror genre covered, so where/when will “Titan” be set? Some rumors indicate it will be an MMOFPS, which might imply the game is set in modern times, or at least in the ballpark. Blizzard is working hard at it, and I honestly, sincerely doubt we will get any additional information any time soon, but as ScaryBooster says, one way or another, we’ll know soon enough. Till then, salivate your Titan hunger with this tiniest morsel of rumored and in-all-likelihood-completely-fake information!